Back to Arizona

 

As usual, I am extremely late in writing about my fun and memorable trip with Jolynne to Arizona back in February. My niece, Mayla was born in late December and I was so sad I could not be there to meet her when she came into the world. Since Mickey and Georgia already got to go on trips with mommy, it was Jo Jo's turn. It was also my first trip back to Arizona since we moved, exactly 1 year earlier so needless to say I couldn't wait to see my  friends and family. Also, not going to lie, I was thrilled to be getting out of the cold. Virginia's winters seem to be late winters so even though February was almost over, we were still continuing to get snow.

Jolynne was so excited. What was different and cool about her trip was we were flying out of Charlottesville so you actually have to walk outside and by all the airplanes to get on the airplane. She was smiling from ear to ear. She could actually see she was getting on an airplane instead of walking through a tunnel like at most airports. This made the experience very real for her. Since it was a small plane, the window was the perfect height for her so she was looking out the window the whole time we took off and said "weeeeeeee". I loved to see her so happy. She did great on both our flights. She was such a breeze to fly with and made mommy's life so easy, which I appreciate.

 

Seeing my mom when we got there was of course a breath of fresh air! I miss her so much and hate that we  live so far away from each other. We decided to take it easy our first night and just went back to Nana's house, ate pizza and visited. The next day, Jolynne and I walked to the neighborhood park to enjoy some of the weather before my sister came to pick us up. Jolynne loved Mayla the moment she saw her, and so did I. I can tell that Jolynne will be great mommy someday. Before we went to Kristy's we stopped to pickup one of my favorite things to eat that we don't have in Virginia - In N Out Burger. Jolynne ate the whole thing down. I have never seen her eat a burger like that before and I don't think I've seen her eat one like that since. It was nice just hanging out at my sisters and talking while Mayla and Jolynne napped. I don't remember the last time we did that. It was the perfect way to spend the day.

 

 

 

Later that night I was reunited with two of my best friends Christie and Wendy. We met at Kona Grill where we used to meet for drinks and dinner all the time. I loved seeing and talking to them, just like old times. Making new friends is hard when you move and nothing or no one can ever replace these girls or how much their friendship means to me.

 

 

 

 

The next day we took at trip to moms school for her blood drive and Jolynne played on the playground while we waited for Nana. Then we stopped by my old work at Club Med to see my friends and co-workers from there who I also missed. Jolynne was pretty shy the whole time we were there. It was just like yesterday I was working there and having daily conversations and sharing jokes and stories with the team there... and oh yes...working too. I really miss that aspect of my life sometimes. Adult conversations. It was great to see them all and Tracy gave Jolynne a little something to take home, which was a big hit and still is a favorite toy.

 

 

That afternoon we went to meet up with my friends again and their kids at the Scottsdale Railroad park. We played on the playground, rode the train and the carousel. The weather was beautiful and Jolynne had a blast! Even her cousin Matthew came along!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night we went back to my moms house and spent the last remaining hours of our trip there. Little did I know it would probably be my last time in that house as my mom just sold it. It brings a lot of mixed emotions as I have so many fond memories of my dad there and all of us being together as a family while he was still alive. I'm so happy that Jolynne and I got to go back one more time before she moves and meet my niece and spend time with my mom, sister and some of my dearest friends. I am hopeful that our next trip to Arizona will be all five us and we will have more time to see everyone as I definitely missed catching up with a few people. As for Jolynne, she had a wonderful time and still keeps talking about when we can go back.

 

 

 





In Memory of Erin Golding

So many thoughts traveling through my brain today. I am deviating from my timeline on this blog to write about something or I should say someone very important. I still have blogs I need to write to catch up to present day but as usual, falling behind, so kids...bare with me if the dates are confusing when you are reading this later. Today is Easter Sunday 2015. I should be celebrating. Celebrating Jesus and what he sacrificed for us. But I am not. I am mourning the death of someone who had so much life left to live. Erin was our nanny after the babies came home from the hospital. In fact, I am sure I have wrote about her before. She was always calling in sick which in turn meant I had to. Only later to find out she was very sick with bone cancer. That was 3 years ago in 2012. Last night she left this world. I am trying to wrap my head around why someone so young would have to go. I know that people, kids much younger die and it's never fair and it's always awful, every life lost before their time is crushing. There have been two times before this where I was reminded just how fragile life can be. The first was when I lost my dad before he could walk me down the aisle or meet my children. The second was when we were told 2 days after the babies were born that Jolynne needed surgery or she would die and there was a 50% chance she wouldn't survive the surgery. I watched my babies fight to live their first three months. They overcame and survived despite being born at 29 weeks but not without leaving me a little (or a lot) shook up.

 Today I am so sad, not for the loss I feel in my life, because admittedly Erin and I were not that close, but because I cared about her. I entrusted my babies lives with her in their most crucial time at home. Mickey was still having breathing and swallowing issues, Jolynne's tummy was still not 100% and we left them in her care every day as we went to work, and she kept our children safe, and she CARED for them. Today I am feeling sad that she never got the chance to have children of her own, or fall in love and get married or even decide with certainty what she wanted to do. I am feeling even more sad that because she was old enough to understand what was happening to her, she was probably well aware of all the things she wanted to do that she probably wouldn't be able to. There is a lot about Erin I don't know but what I do know is that she cared deeply for others. Different care givers over the years have felt a connection with one of the three triplets. At daycare, one of the teachers was in love with Georgia, in the hospital there was a nurse that adored Mickey. Erin instantly felt a connection to Jolynne. She commented soon after she started that she had a scar on her stomach just like Jo Jo's. Over the last couple years, she is quick to like or comment on a picture of Jolynne. It is nothing against the other too or that she cared for them less, it was simply an understanding of some things Jolynne had to go through in her early days, some similar experiences to her own I suppose. A new friend at church today asked me if I had any pictures of Erin with the kids and so I came home searching for at least one. There had to be one. She was with them every day, all day long but regretfully she was always the one taking the pictures. Erin sent me this picture a month ago of Jolynne and said "looking through old pics on my phone and saw this precious baby".

I am sad thinking about the cancer she had and that she spent the last couple years fighting for her life in her mid twenties while so many others were taking theirs for granted. I think about all the things I have got to do and the struggles I think I have when in fact they are nothing compared to what she had to struggle with. I am sad when I think about the fact that she had cancer but she died from the thing that was supposed to save her from it (chemotherapy), and the toll it took on her body. I think about all the recent conversations her and I have had about essentials oils and her strong interest in them. She said she hated pills, she hated that every time she left the hospital she felt weaker than when she went in and I wonder if she could have afforded the oils if they would have made a difference.

In the end I don't think its fair that Erin had to die at age 27. Today while we are singing in church and hunting Easter eggs with our children and enjoying meals with our loved ones, her parents are saying goodbye to their little girl, and her sister is saying goodbye to her best friend.

I know that Erin is in a better place and I should be clear there is a lot I do not know about her struggle or her last days and quite frankly its none of my business. But I want my kids to know someday that at this point they have had two nannies that loved them and took precious care of them. One of them was Erin Golding, and she would have been in their lives longer if she could have. I want them to know who she was and how precious life is. I want them to care for other people the way she cared for them. Rest in Peace Erin. We are grateful to have had you in our lives for a short time and blessed to have known you.

Georgia and Mommy go to Florida

It was Georgia's turn for some one on one time with mommy. It's the middle of December, Christmas is right around the corner, and the weather is pretty chilly. Why not go see my best friend, Christina, and meet my God daughter Kennedi. Christina and her family came to see us after we first moved to Virginia in May which meant a lot to me. At the time I was feeling so homesick and still hadn't made friends here. It was during that trip she asked me to be Kennedi's godmother and I was and still am so honored. I was so bummed I could not be at the baby shower. The move into our new house completely wiped us out, and was much more money than we anticipated. Luckily, Tommy had a couple tickets on Southwest so that I could go see Christina and bring Georgia with me.

Georgia was definitely not as easy to travel with as Mickey. She didn't want to keep her seat belt on. She kept saying she had to go to the bathroom on the plane, and then we would get there and she said she didn't have to go. She was fussy, she didn't want to sit down. It was tough to keep her happy. The flights were pretty bumpy too so it was just not an ideal time for her to act like this but we survived. We got to Orlando just in time for dinner and all went for Pizza at this local place near where Christina lives. It was really good....Georgia especially was stuffing her face with two slices at once. That girl loves pizza!!! We got to their house after dinner and Christina surprised us with presents. One for Georgia and I got a beautiful framed picture of Kennedi that is now hanging in our guest room. I loved it! After the kids went to bed Christina and I stayed up for hours drinking wine and talking just like old times. I so wish we lived closer and could have nights like that more often, but I cherish them every time we do. I noticed in Christina's guest room she had hung up a couple poems I had written. That was so special to me and reminded me that I need to write more...something that is becoming increasing difficult as the kids get older.

 

The next day we had lots of fun planned for the girls. Todd was having a daddy/daughter day with Kennedi so that we could take Sophia and Georgia for a girls day out! Our first stop was a little day spa for girls. Sophia and Georgia got manicures and they got their hair done to look like princesses. Georgia could not decide between orange and pink since those are both her favorite colors so her nails were both colors. Then she had her hair twisted up in the back with glitter and some light eye shadow and lip gloss. Sophia and Georgia were so excited and all smiles. They had their little princess dresses on and they were cute as can be. It was such a cool moment to see them all dolled up together.

After that we headed to Tommy Bahama where Todd is the Executive Chef and had a yummy lunch, as always, then we were off to the Gaylord Palms, ICE event. There were ice slides and a show you walked through with tons of ice sculptures all with the Nutcracker theme. The only problem was it was so busy, so there were a lot of lines to wait in, which normally would have been ok but Georgia was being so impatient. I think it was a combination of not taking a long enough nap and that she was constipated. Again, she kept saying she had to potty but wouldn't go when we got there and she was very fussy. I felt like I was really struggling to keep her happy at this point which made me sad because I wanted her to have a good time and enjoy the time we were spending with our friends. The ice sculptures were beautiful. Its amazing how talented those people are. Afterwards, we went to the gift shop and got some yummy treats for the kids before heading to the slides. This was our favorite part. We got a double enter tube and Georgia and I went down the slide together. I got Georgia on video saying "AGAIN?" after we got to the bottom. You can see it yourself at the end of this blog entry. We got to slide down twice but I think Georgia could have done that all day. She got pretty upset again when it was over.

 

When we got back to Christina's, Georgia was not herself. I could tell something was wrong. She was having a lot of pee pee accidents which was not like her. She wouldn't tell me when she had to go potty and she was crying a lot. I decided to give her a warm bath a little later and realized she was in fact constipated. She really needed to go but it hurt so bad. Poor girl. I hated seeing her so upset and feeling so helpless. She finally got it all out though and was much better after that. If you are reading this later in life Georgia dear....sorry, not trying to embarrass you sweetheart. We've all had moments like this at some point or another.

On Sunday, it was time for Christina and I to have some mommy time, so we went to get pedicures and had a nice lunch sitting outside. I was going to soak up as much of the sun as I could. We thought about taking the girls somewhere later but decided against it. I think everyone was tired from Saturday. It was nice just hanging out at the house and watching the kids play and spending time with Kennedi too. Of course, Georgia loved Kennedi. She loves her so much she came home and finally gave her baby doll a name....Kennedi!

 

I was so sad to leave the next day, but ready to get Georgia back in a routine and get her potty situation back under control....which it is now. For some reason I notice any time the routine is thrown off, she starts to have accidents. It's happened a few times since we've been back. Even though she wasn't feeling 100%, Georgia had a great time. She still talks about the trip months later and about her friends Sophia and Kennedi. We cant wait to see them again soon! Hopefully in October when the whole family can be there! I know we are still not living in the same state but at least we are on the same side of the country which should make it easier to see each other. I am so grateful for all the new friendships I am making in Virginia but there a few people who nobody will ever compare to. I miss my best friend and love her more infinity x infinity!

 

 

Here is the video of Georgia and I going down the ice slide. It was much like our whole trip - It was fun, it went by too fast and then it was over.......until next time.